Oriental Beech

Appearance

''Fagus orientalis'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to 45 m tall and 3 m trunk diameter, though more typically 25–35 m tall and up to 1.5 m trunk diameter.

The leaves are alternate, simple, and entire or with a slightly crenate margin, 7–15 cm long and 5–9 cm broad, with 7–13 veins on each side of the leaf . The buds are long and slender, 15–30 millimetres long and 2–3 mm thick, but thicker, till 4–5 mm , where the buds include flower buds.

The flowers are small catkins which appear shortly after the leaves in spring.

The seeds are small triangular nuts 15–20 mm long and 7–10 mm wide at the base; there are two nuts in each cupule, maturing in the autumn 5–6 months after pollination. The cupule differs from that of European Beech in having flattened, slightly leaf-like appendages at the base .

Distribution

The tree's natural range extends from southeastern Bulgaria's Strandja mountain, through northwest Turkey, and east to the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia and Russia, to the Alborz Mountains in Iran.

Its habitat is restricted to mountain forests, at 500–2,100 m of altitude.

The Oriental beech has colonized even lower altitudes in the Strandja mountain of Bulgaria as low as 200–300 m above sea-level, due to the unique local micro-climate, where it forms typical ''Fagus orientalis''−''Rhododendron ponticum'' forests as well as with other evergreen shrubs.

Habitat

The tree's natural range extends from southeastern Bulgaria's Strandja mountain, through northwest Turkey, and east to the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia and Russia, to the Alborz Mountains in Iran.

Its habitat is restricted to mountain forests, at 500–2,100 m of altitude.

The Oriental beech has colonized even lower altitudes in the Strandja mountain of Bulgaria as low as 200–300 m above sea-level, due to the unique local micro-climate, where it forms typical ''Fagus orientalis''−''Rhododendron ponticum'' forests as well as with other evergreen shrubs.